U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service The Daughter of Dawn Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
The film was written and directed by Norbert Myles from West Virginia and produced by Richard E. Banks, owner of the Texas Film Company. Banks had lived and worked with Native Americans for over 25 years. It was through his efforts that an authentic story from the perspective of the Plains tribes was part of the script. The authenticity includes a battle sequence, village scenes, and tribal dances. There are even two buffalo hunt sequences where hunters chase down the fabled buffalo herds of Wichita Mountains. However, little is known about the actual film shoot or Wichita staff reaction or support to the crew or cast.
The film highlights many cultural aspects of the Comanche, including, ways of dressing, use of sign language to communicate, and bareback horse riding. Charons Garden Wilderness, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Photography by Kirk Rodgers A sneak preview of the film was held in October, 1920 at the College Theater in Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is For the first time, Native Americans were Los Angeles. But for unknown reasons, known for many things: incredible fall used to tell a story about themselves. the film was never distributed and colors, majestic views from Mount Scott, Here, there were no actors in red make thought to be lost. free-range bison herds, a wilderness up or indistinguishable or inaccurate in some of the oldest mountains in the tribal wear and objects. For the film, the The story is basic Hollywood—boy country, lakes, and short-grass prairie. Native American cast brought their own meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets It is also known for its unique cultural clothes, tipis, horses, and cultural and girl. However, in this case, the boy and aspects: home to Lynn A. Greenwalt, religious objects to tell this story. girl, and more than 300 extras, are all hideout of various bandits, purported members of the local-area Comanche and site of several buried treasures, a mining camp, a long Native American history, and establishment before Pelican Island. Additionally, its unique establishing mission to protect American bison and longhorn cattle differentiate it from any other national wildlife refuge. But its strangest story is its use as an outdoor movie studio for the first film with an all-Native American cast. The silent film, The Daughter of Dawn, is an 80-minute feature shot on the Refuge in the summer of 1920. Hollywood was beginning to develop the Classical Hollywood Continuity Style—the standard story, editing, and camera practices used in a typical Hollywood movie. At this time, localized film studios were common with major production centers located in Chicago, New Jersey, and San Francisco. Kiowa tribes. Like many love stories, the film and began there are trials and tribulations to reach the process to that ‘happily ever after’ ending. restore it. After several years, The The cast featured Ester LeBarre as Daughter of Dawn Dawn, White Parker as White, Hunting is fully restored Horse as the chief, and Jack Sankeydoty with a score by as Wolf, and Wanada Parker as Wanada. Dr. David Yeagley. White Parker and his sister, Wanada, The restored were children of the Comanche chief, film premiered at Quanah Parker, one of the last Plains deadCENTER Quahadi Comanche warriors. Chief Film Festival in Parker surrendered his people at Oklahoma City in Fort Sill, located just south of Wichita June 2012. Mountains, in 1875, after years of battle with U. S. Cavalry. There are plans to broadcast the The Comanche were a nomadic North film and offer it on American tribal group that roamed DVD. Currently, the southern Great Plains in the 18th the film is making and 19th centuries. They separated the rounds of U.S. and international film Also, see the following article: from the Shoshone tribe and migrated festivals. The Daughter of Dawn: An Original southward in the late 1600s, appearing Silent Film with an Oklahoma Indian in New Mexico around 1705. Their range For More Information about Wichita Cast by Leo Kelley in Chronicles of included SE Colorado, SW Kansas, Mountains Wildlife Refuge: Oklahoma, Fall 1999 W Oklahoma, and N Texas. The name Refuge Manager Comanche is derived from a Ute word Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge http://www.okhistory.org/pdf/ meaning “anyone who wants to fight 32 Refuge Headquarters Road dodChronicles.pdf me all the time.” Their staple food was Indiahoma, OK 73552 buffalo meat. The Comanche were 580/429-3222 March 2013 excellent horsemen and were known for raids against other tribes and settlers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service often pushing south into Mexico. Southwest Region Although, the tribe roamed over a wide www.fws.gov/southwest range, they were never a large tribe. Established before Pelican Island? For More Information about The Daughter Set aside from the Comanche- In 2003, a private investigator in North of Dawn: Kiowa-Apache Indian Reservation Carolina ended up with a print of the Oklahoma Historical Society as a National Forest in 1901 and film. He contacted Brian Hearn of the Oklahoma History Center administered by the U.S. Forest Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 2005 to 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive Service, the area was transferred offer to sell the film. Through Hearn, the Oklahoma City, OK 73105 in 1935 to the Bureau of Biologi- Oklahoma Historical Society purchased 405/521-2491 cal Survey, one of the predecessor agencies of the present-day U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Buf- falo, once nearly extinct, were reintroduced in 1907. Elk were reintroduced to the refuge between 1908 and 1912. Later, a longhorn cattle herd was brought to the refuge in 1927 and maintained for historic posterity. The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is an island in the sea of modernity and a segment of southwestern history preserved for future generations.